It’s nearly the end of 2024 and I just finished my last book of the year! I’ll be sharing my favourite books from this year soon, but for now here is a round up of some of the books I’ve read recently.
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I absolutely loved this book and it is definitely a new favourite. Margaret Rogerson’s writing was so good and just swept me up in the story and painted a beautiful and magical picture of the world. I never knew what was going to happen next and had to keep reading to find out. The romance between the protagonists is quite a big part of this book and I was rooting for them the whole way through and really willing Isabelle to realise her true feelings. Despite being quite short for a fantasy standalone, I thought the pacing was good and found it a nice change of pace to read a shorter fantasy novel. This was a perfect autumnal read and I am so glad I picked it up.
The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray ⭐⭐⭐.5 – This was a fun reimagining of Jane Austen’s work which sees pairs of characters from each of her books grouped together for a house party which is unfortunately interrupted by a murder. As this book is set after the events of Austen’s novels, it was fun to imagine how the characters’ lives evolved after the last pages of the original works concluded. However, there were a lot of POVs which switched quite frequently, making it not a very smooth reading experience as I felt it jumped around a little too often. I didn’t feel as intrigued by the murder mystery as I expected – because we see so many POVs, we know more than the two characters investigating do, so often when Tilney and Darcy discover something new, the reader already knows about it, which takes the excitement out of the revelation. Overall, this was a good read and I think it will appeal most to fans of Jane Austen.
Cities of Smoke and Starlight by Alli Earnest ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This novel, which blends science fiction and fantasy, drew me in from the start. The combination of Alli Earnest’s writing style and Magnus Carlssen’s narration made the audiobook a very enjoyable listening experience. This book has a very slow burn romance, some might feel it is too slow, but for me it felt a realistic speed for their relationship to progress since they start out hating each other. I liked the characters and world, but the plot was probably the weakest element. There were too many questions left unanswered at the end, which took some impact out of the final confrontation as I just felt a bit too confused by what was happening. Because I enjoyed the writing, narration and characters so much, I will continue with the series and look forward to seeing where the story will go next.
Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Sutanto ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This sequel to Dial A For Aunties was just as chaotic and funny as the first book. I loved being back with these characters again, especially the aunties. I felt so bad for Medi in this book that her own wedding got ruined this time. The ending, although I predicted some of it quite early on, was still satisfying and there were definitely plenty of surprising moments along the way. I’m looking forward to seeing what antics they all get up to in the next book!
An Improbable Season by Rosalyn Eves ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This YA Regency romance was just what I was looking for – a relaxing, easy-read audiobook. It did take me a little while to get into this one though. The novel is told in three POVs, and at first I found it hard to distinguish the three protagonists. This wasn’t helped by how similar their three names sounded when read aloud on audiobook. However, I settled into the story as the book went on and really enjoyed it in the end.
What books have you enjoyed recently? Chat with me in the comments!
The Last Book On The Left 